Finding Home
by HollyJandHuddyfan
Summary: I posted this story awhile back and then took it down. I am in the process of re-vamping it. The begining is similar, but I'm taking it in a whole new direction. Basically, KC has a younger sister named Kat who now attends Degrassi. She has to deal with trying to fit back in with her once broken family, not to mention typical drama that one experiences while attending Degrassi.
1. Chapter 1

I stood in the middle of the hallway with my schedule in hand. It was the first day of 9th grade and, unbeknownst to me at the time, the first day of my new life. "Hey, move it bitch!" some girl shouted as she pushed her way past me. I moved over to the side of the hallway in order to look at my schedule which was:

_Period 1 English 9 Honours Room 204_

_Period 2 Algebra 1 Honours Room 111_

_Period 3 Gym_

_Period 4 Lunch_

_Period 5 AP World History Room 134_

_Period 6 French 1 Room 134_

_Period 7 AP Biology Room 209_

"Okay, room 204" I muttered under my breath. "Where was the damn staircase?" I walked over to some short ginger girl. "Hey, excuse me…" I started to say.

'What do you want?" she snapped as she turned around and looked me straight in the eye.

"Um…do you know how to get to room 204?" I nervously asked.

"First day, eh?" she asked.

"Yep,"

"Let me fill you in on something. I don't associate myself with the Emo crowd" she sneered. "I'm Holly J Sinclair, not Holly, but Holly J. And I run this school. Since it's your first day, I'll let you off with a warning. Don't ever talk to me again. Got that, Hun?"

"Can you at least tell me where the room is?"

"You've got persistence, girl," she said. "I like that. If you can re-vamp your style and prove yourself to be smart, I just might reconsider letting you be seen with me. Anyway" she continued as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, "go to the end of the hallway" she said while pointing. "The staircase is on the right. I think you can figure it out from there".

"Thanks a lot". Holly J turned back around and started talking with some other girl. I sighed and made my way down the hall and up the stairs. There was the classroom, right in front of me. I took a seat in the back corner. A minute or so later, a preppy looking girl with straight blonde hair came waltzing in and took a seat next to me.

"Hi, I'm Jenna," she said, extending her hand out.

"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Kat" I said as we shook hands. "It's my first day here".

"Oh, are you a freshman?" she asked.

"Yep,"

"Don't worry, you'll be just fine" she assured me. "Anyway, I'm in grade 10"

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in a freshman English class?"

"I don't mind you asking," Jenna said with a smile on her face. She looked happy, too happy, especially for 7 a.m. "I transferred here from a school in Tennessee the middle of last year. The 9th grade English class at my old school was like 10th grade English here. So they put me in a 10th grade English class and put me in 9th grade honours this year with the hopes that I wouldn't be totally bored. I know. It makes no sense" she added with a giggle.

"So this class should be a breeze for you then," I said.

"Yep, should be" Jenna chirped as she bent down in order to get something out of her backpack. Just then, a short man wearing rectangular glasses came walking in.

"Hello class," he said as he began to write on the chalkboard. "My name is Mr. Ross and welcome to 9th grade English Honours." He took out a folder and began to take attendance.

"Amy Anderson,"

"Here!"

"Sam Brown,"

"Here!" While Mr. Ross was calling out names I had begun mindlessly doodling on the inside cover of my spiral notebook.

"Kathryn Guthrie?" I looked up. That was me.

"Here!" I said, quickly raising my hand. Jenna turned towards me.

"Eh…Kat?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"This may sound a bit weird, but do you have a brother named K.C.?" Damn! I forgot he went here. This was going to be extremely complicated for me to explain.

"Yep," I muttered.

"Funny," Jenna said. "He never mentioned anything about having a sister".

"Guess he must be ashamed of me," I said half-jokingly. Jenna shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe, though I don't understand why. You seem nice enough!" I forced a smile before turning towards the front of the classroom and sat through the remainder of class, not bothering to pay attention. The rest of my morning was pretty uneventful and, before I knew it, it was lunch time.

The line in the cafeteria was a mile long! It snaked around half the perimeter of the lunch room. It didn't matter, though. I didn't feel like eating anyway. I just sat there tapping out a rhythm on the table that matched my boredom. A few minutes and many taps later, I heard someone call out my name. I looked behind me and saw that it was none other than my long-lost brother, K.C.

"Hi," I muttered, quickly shifting my gaze to the floor.

"Wow! Oh my God! I totally didn't expect to see you here".

"It's my first day" I explained. "I'm in grade 9 now."

"Well, you certainly look a lot different from when I last saw you. Did you dye your hair black?"

"Yep," I responded.

"It's been a long time".

"Yep,"

"You don't talk much anymore, do you?" he observed. K.C. was always one for picking up on subtleties.

"Not really," I said as I looked up at him. "So, are you still living in the group home?"

"Nope" he answered. "I'm living with mom now".

"She got out of jail?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. He nodded. "When?"

"About nine months ago" It hurt being the only one in the family out of the loop. Why didn't mom ever try to contact me? Did she not love me like she often told me when she was high? That seemed to be the only plausible explanation at the moment. I debated whether or not to ask this.

"Does she ever mention me?" I finally decided on asking, not quite sure that I wanted to hear the answer.

"All the time" K.C. answered. "She keeps saying that if she were able to afford a Private Investigator in order to find you, she would".

"Oh, that's nice. I guess" I said. I was shocked that he was speaking so highly of our mom. Last time I saw, he loathed her very existence.

"Maybe I can finally leave my foster hell of a home!" I exclaimed.

"Is it really that bad?" K.C. asked. I nodded as tears swelled up in my eyes. K.C. sat down next to me. "What have those fucking bastards done to my baby sister?" I tensed up. I had never told anybody what went on behind those doors. "Come on!" he said getting up and walking. I hesitated. "Kat, come with me!" I took a deep breath nervously followed K.C. out of the cafeteria. "The Computer Lab should be empty now, so we can talk more about this in there". I nodded even though I wasn't so sure that I wanted to talk about it. When we got there, he shut the door, and we sat down. "So, what's going on?"

"Umm…" I sputtered. "Let's just say that there's a reason I'm wearing long sleeves in August". He gave me a quizzical look. I took a deep breath as I pulled up my sleeves and showed him the deep welts and burns scattered about on my arm. "They're on my back and legs too" I explained.

"Fuck!" he said. "I had no idea. Those mother fucking…" He stood up and kicked the trashcan causing it to turn over and spill all of its contents. I walked over and began to clean everything up.

"It's okay," I said. "There was nothing you could do".

"No, it's not okay!" K.C. shouted to no one in particular. "If you want, I can see if mom is able to re-gain custody of you like she has with me. It's up to you, though. I won't even tell her I saw you if you don't want me to".

"How's she doing?" I asked. "You know, with drugs and stuff?"

"She's been clean for three years and, if anything, she'll over coddle you. She'll do just about anything to re-earn your trust. Just don't take advantage of that like I did".

"Believe me, I won't," I said. "I'll just be happy to be somewhere that I don't have to worry about accidentally saying the wrong thing and, you know…" I paused hoping K.C. would be able to fill in the blanks, which he did.

"So, do you want me to ask her if you can come back home?" he interjected. I nodded as I ran over to hug my brother.

"I miss being a family" I confessed before we left the Computer Lab and headed our separate ways.


	2. Chapter 2

History was such a drag. I already knew everything this guy was teaching. I didn't really see much of a point in paying attention, so I began doodling in my notebook before drifting off into a random stream of thoughts…

I was quickly brought to my senses by the slam of a door. A man who was wearing a suit stood at the front of the classroom. He was saying something to the teacher, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. "Kathryn Guthrie, please come with me". My heart started pounding as all eyes fell on me. Did I do something wrong? Fuck! I didn't even know what the hell I did.

"Should…um…should I bring my stuff, sir?" He nodded, so I tossed my binder into my backpack, zipped my backpack up and threw it over my shoulder. I nervously got up and followed him out into the hallway, wanting to ask what was going on, but I was too scared to get the words out. We walked down a maze of halls and before I knew it, I had no idea where I was. The man stopped and turned towards me.

"I don't want you to be alarmed" he started to explain, "but your mother is here to see you". My heart skipped a beat. My mom as in my Bio mom? I quickly shook that thought out of my head figuring that she couldn't actually be here, and it must be my foster mom. After all, I had only talked with K.C. 20 minutes earlier, and the school had cell phone blocks, so I knew that he couldn't have called or texted her. When we reached the main office. I looked through the tall glass doors. I couldn't believe it! It truly was my Bio mom; Lisa Guthrie. Had she actually changed like K.C. said? Would she want to take me back? I took a deep breath, slowly opened up the door and walked in. My mom peered up from the pages of the magazine. Her eyes brightened as a smile appeared across her face.

"Kathryn!" she exclaimed. My mom was the only one, other than school personnel, who called me by my full name.

"Um…hey" was all that managed to escape my lips.

"Well, don't just stand there. Come over here and sit down" she said, patting the seat next to her. Nervously, I walked over and sat down. After an uncomfortably long pause, I attempted to break the ice. "Watcha reading?"

"Oh this?" she clarified, holding up the magazine. "It just has some recipes in it. I haven't done much cooking in a while. So, I was hoping that I might get inspired by something in here."

"Oh, okay" I muttered.

"So, I talked to your principal. Very nice guy. Anyway, he said that I could take you out of school, as long as you're back in time for your Bio class. That gives us about an hour and a half to leave, do something and get you back here." She paused for a moment. "This is assuming that you want to come with me. I don't want to make you to do anything you don't want to do".

"No, its fine," I said. "I'm up for a walk, coffee or whatever".

"Great!" she enthusiastically said, getting up and signing me out. We then walked outside and over to her car, a blue '92 Honda Civic. The bumper was all bent out of shape, and there were deep scratches and dents all over the place. "I know this isn't exactly the best ride in town, but…" my mom started to say.

"As long as it drives, I don't care what your car looks like."

"That's what I love about you," she said. "You're always so optimistic about everything".

"Well, not everything," I said.

"Nobody is," she said. "And I certainly don't expect you to be after all you've been through". _What the hell? You don't know half of what I've been through. So don't act like you do! _I wanted to say these words so badly, but managed to keep my mouth shut.

After we got into the car, I asked her if we could turn on the A.C. "Why don't you just take your jacket off if you're hot?" she asked. _I wish I could, but then you'd see what Foster Hell did to me, and I don't want you to know the truth; that I'm not the strong, brave girl you always thought I was._

"No, its fine," I lied. "I'll just open the window. Yeah, um…that should be fine". We sat in silence for a few moments as she drove. Finally, we pulled up in front of The Dot where my mom turned towards me.

"You know, Kathryn, you can tell me anything. Trust me, after all I've done in my life, I most certainly won't be one to judge." I felt tears stinging my eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to keep them in.

"Um...I guess…" she leaned towards me.

"Yes?"

"How did you find out that I went to Degrassi?" I quickly blurted out, trying to divert the conversation.

"Oh, that!" my mom said, sounding relieved. "Let's go inside and then I'll tell you"…

"I'll have an iced caramel latte," I told the waitress. My mom ordered an iced-tea. After we ordered, neither of us said a word. The silence was pure torture.

"So…" my mom finally said after what seemed to be an eternity and a half.

"So…"

"It's really nice to see you" she finally said. "I really missed you while I was gone."

"Thanks!"

"You're hair looks really good, sweetie. Did you dye it yourself?" I nodded. "You're really talented." I smiled. She looked at me for a second. "So, you're not going to take that jacket off, are you?" she asked.

"Of course she's not, mommy dearest. She doesn't want you to know that she's nothing but a freak that gets satisfaction from hurting herself."

"And who exactly are you?" my mom demanded to know.

"I'm Holly J. Sinclair and I had the pleasure of watching your daughter expose her secrets to K.C."

"You were spying on us" I blurted out as tears filled my eyes. Holly J gave a sinister smile.

"She was going to find out eventually. I just helped to speed up the process. You're Welcome!" My heart began to pound, and I felt like I was suffocating. The room began to close in on me. _I have to get out of here! I have to get out! _In a rush of panic, I got up and ran into the bathroom, locking myself in a stall and began to cry. About a minute later, I heard the main bathroom door open.

"Kathryn?" I hear my mom call out. "Kathryn, are you in here?" She paused for a moment. "Listen, I talked to that girl Holly, and I don't think she'll be pulling anymore of her antics. Isn't that right?"

"First of all it's Holly J" I heard her call out. "I absolutely refuse to be called Holly. And second, I refuse to apologize for something that I'm not sorry about". I stayed put as I close my eyes. I felt so pathetic that I couldn't even stand up for myself. Mommy had to do it for me. At this point, I wanted nothing more than to vaporize in to a state of nothingness. "What are you doing?" I suddenly heard Holly J blurt out. "That's my phone. Give it back!"

"You can explain to your mom what you did or I can," she said sternly.

"And how exactly do you plan on reaching my mom? You don't have her number".

"It's pretty obvious when you have _Mom_ listed as one of your contacts"

"Crap!" I heard Holly J mutter under her breath. "Fine. I'll call her". There was a brief pause. "Hi, mom. It's me, Holly J. I need to tell you something" she sighed. "Listen I'm at the Dot now. I was just minding my own business when some crazy lady came over and started harassing me for absolutely no reason at all". Holly J pretended to sob and choke on her words. It was so obvious that she was faking this but, with my luck, her mom probably fell right for it. Suddenly, I heard a couple of jarring sounds. "Hey! I was in the middle of a conversation, bitch!" Holly J screeched. Suddenly I heard my mom start to speak with whom I presumed to be Mrs. Sinclair. "Wait!" Holly J shouted as my mom was beginning to tell her what actually happened. "Stop! I'm sorry. Just don't say anything! Please!" she pleaded.

"You should have thought about that before you publically humiliated my daughter" my mom shot right back.

"She had it coming…Ok! Ok! I'm sorry!" Holly J swore, actually sounding sincere this time. "Can I just have my phone back?"

"Fine, you can have your phone back" my mom said.

"Oh, thank you Mrs. Guthrie I…"

"But" she interjected. "If you so much as glare at either of my kids again, I'm filing a report with the police. Is that understood?"

"What! The police? Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"

"Do you want me to go right now? Because I can, you know" my mom threatened.

"And they can charge me meaning I'll have a record" Holly J nervously clarified.

"Yep"

"And then I won't be able to get into Yale or even some mediocre University." Holly J surmised. "Okay," she said after taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. This will not happen again".

"It better not!" I heard my mom say before the bathroom door quickly open and then slam back shut.


	3. Chapter 3

"Kathryn," my mom called. "She's gone now. Why don't you come on out?" I opened the door and slowly crept out.

"I hate my life" I moaned as I threw my hands up in the air. "It's times like this when I want nothing more than to shove a bunch of pills down my throat and keep on shoving them down until my heart ceases to beat!"

"You don't mean that" my mom said in an extremely flat tone.

"How do you know?" I sassily asked, walking out of the bathroom and then out of the restaurant.

"Kathryn, wait!" my mom said as she ran out the door. "Are you ok?"

"What do you think?" I snapped back.

"Come on! Let me take you back to school" she offered.

"It's not that far. I can walk".

"I need to sign you back in" she explained. "Look, we don't even have to talk at all if you don't want to."

"Fair enough," I said, walking over to her car and getting in. I stared out the window as she got in and started the car up.

"Kathryn?" She leaned towards me.

"I thought we weren't talking" I said, not bothering to look at her.

"Do you still want me to answer your question?" she asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I pushed it off and turned to look at her.

'Which question?"

"How I found out that you went to Degrassi" she clarified. "Do you still want to know?"

"I don't really care" I responded. She took a deep breath.

"Is it true, what that girl said?"

"What do you mean?" I nervously asked.

"Can I see your arm? Either one?" Fuck! If I showed her, my life would officially be over. If I didn't, she'd get real suspicious…

_It was five years ago. Mom had locked K.C. in the closet again. "Let me out!" he screamed, pounding on the door. I'm really sorry. I won't steal people's lunches anymore. I was just really hungry!" Mom ignored him as she snorted some Coke into her system. I was hiding underneath the kitchen table, terrified of what was going to happen next. Slowly, I crawled out from beneath the table. Mom didn't know that I had found the closet key and placed it in my pocket. _

_ "Where the hell do you think you're going?!" mom snapped at me. Before I had the chance to respond, however, she yanked me up by the hair and then sent me spiraling down towards the floor. The key fell out of my pocket. She glared down at me and picked up the key. "You think you're clever bitch, don't you?" She started kicking me repeatedly. _

_ "Mommy, please! I'm sorry. Ouch! Please stop!" I cried in agony. Suddenly I started coughing up blood. _

_ "Oh my God!" she exclaimed as she stopped and knelt down beside me. "I'm so sorry!" Tears began to form in her eyes as she placed her hand on my shoulder. "I love you, sweetie. I promise this will never happen again!" The thing is, she had made that promise a hundred times before and failed to keep it each time. _

_ The next thing I remembered was waking up in a hospital bed. There were so many machines surrounding me. Mom was sitting in a chair by my bedside. She looked as if she had been crying for hours. Standing next to her was a man, dressed very professionally, holding a binder. Slowly, I sat up._

_ "What…what's going on?" I sputtered. My chest ached when I spoke._

_ "Kathryn! Oh thank God, you're alright!" Mom got up and ran over to my bed. _

_ "Mrs. Guthrie" the man said. "I need you to step out of the room for a bit so I can talk with Kathryn"._

_ "But she's my daughter!" mom pleaded. "She needs me here!" Mom turned towards me. "Oh, sweetie, you must be terrified. I…"_

_ "This isn't optional" he sternly said. "I need you to leave now! I'll come out and talk with you as soon as we're done." After mom left the room, the man sat down in the seat previously occupied by her._

_"Hello, Kathryn," he said. "My name is Kevin Long. You can call me either Kev or Kevin" he said. "I'm going to be your social worker."_

_"My…my what?"_

_"Your social worker" he repeated. "I'm here to make sure you're living in a safe place". _

_"Every thing's fine!" I lied. "I live in a nice apartment and my mom and brother KC are two of the most amazing people I know". I was scared. Mom had told me never to trust these people. _

_"They'll take you away for good" she would often tell KC and me. "And if you think you have it bad here, this is heaven compared to where they'll take you." I was always way too scared to imagine such a place. _

_"Has your mom ever tried to hurt you?" Kevin asked. I shook my head. "How then did you get hurt today?"_

_"I fell" I lied. Mom had always said this was the golden excuse. _

_"You don't get a broken rib and a slightly punctured lung just from falling," he said. "Also my records show that you've been hospitalized five times in the past three months: twice for a sprained wrist, twice for a concussion and now this. Why all the sudden injuries?" I shrugged my shoulders._

_"Just clumsy, I guess," I told him. "Can I see my mom please?"_

_"I'm sorry, but I can't let her be near you until I'm sure that she's not a threat to you"._

_"She isn't," I told him. "She loves me. Sure she makes mistakes. But doesn't everybody? Please, can I see her?" He paused for a moment. _

_"Not now, but I promise I'll schedule a time where you can meet with her while I'm present." He broke his promise. I never did see my mom after that, at least not until today…_

"Kathryn!" my mom said, bringing me out of my trance. I looked up.

"Huh?"

"We're here!" I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to open the door. My mom grabbed me by the arm and pulled me towards her. My heart pounded. I was terrified of what was going to happen next.

"Is everything ok?" she surprisingly asked, as she let go of my arm. "And I want the truth this time."

"Yeah, fine" I muttered.

"Then why won't you show me either one of your arms?" she shot back, almost sounding as if she was pissed off at me. My stomach tightened, and I suddenly felt nauseous. I pulled away from her and curled up into a ball. What was she going to do to me this time? Was I going to get my hair pulled, be smacked repeatedly, what? "Kathryn, relax," she said. "I'm not angry. I'm just concerned about you, ok?" I nodded my head.

"Whatever" I muttered. I wasn't going to fall for any of her crap.

"I heard you're living in foster care," she said. "How are they treating you there?"

"Well, you were right about everything" I muttered. She gave me a bewildered look.

"What are you talking about?" I didn't want to tell her about the abuse I went through there; the abuse that's worse than getting beat up by your junkie of a mom.

"I'm going to be late for class" I immediately said as I got out, shut the door behind me and headed towards the school entrance.

"Kathryn, wait!" I heard my mom call out. I just kept on walking, not bothering to look back.


	4. Chapter 4

I made it back just in time for AP Bio. As I walked into class, I scanned the vicinity for a place to seat. My eyes met those of a cute guy. He smiled at me. "Oh my God! Does he like me?" I felt butterflies in my stomach as I slowly walked over and sat next to him.

"Hi, I'm Drew," he said as he extended his hand out.

"I'm Kat" I responded as we shook hands.

"Looks like we're going to be lab partners," he said giving me a smile and a wink. "Can't say I mind, though". I giggled.

"I don't have it so bad myself, either" I responded, worried that I was sounding socially awkward. The thing is, I never had a boyfriend before, just one crush back in grade 7 and that didn't turn out so well.

"What year are you?" he asked.

"I'm in grade 9" I answered. "I took AP Science last year which is why I'm in a grade 10 class". Oh God! Was I babbling too much? I always had a tendency to do that whenever I was nervous. Would he still want to be my lab partner? "Um…how about you?" I asked.

"I'm in grade 11" he responded, staring down at his desk. "I flunked Bio last year. I mean, who cares about the difference between Meiosis and Mitosis? I'm not exactly going to need that when I become a professional basketball player."

"You play basketball?" I blurted out. "My brother plays too."

"Who's your brother?" he asked.

"KC Guthrie"

"No way!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea KC had a sister. And especially one as good looking as you".

"Well, he does," I said. "Of course, we don't look much alike. That's probably why no one can tell we're brother and sister. It makes me wonder whether or not one of us was adopted." Drew gave a bewildered expression.

"I'm kidding" I explained. That earned me a smirk.

"Well, you and your brother definitely share that sense of humor trait."

"What can I say?" I asked as I shrugged my shoulders. "After all, we do share the same DNA."

"Now that's yet another concept I never really understood," he said half-jokingly.

"Maybe you'll get it on round two." He smiled.

"Maybe," he said. "Chances are high with a lab partner as smart as you". The door opened. Drew and I locked eyes once more before I turned towards the front of the classroom. An older looking woman was standing at the head of the classroom. "Hello class," she said in an annoyingly shrill voice. "My name is Mrs. Botts and welcome to Biology" she said as she proceeded to hand out the syllabus. I began to read it over.

"No freaking way!" I heard Drew randomly exclaim.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We have to write a 10 page paper due at the end of the term" he complained. "Man, my writing skills suck!" Drew complained.

"It also says you can work on it with somebody," I said in a slightly flirtatious tone. "You interested?"

"Very," he said smiling.

"Hey, as long as you're willing to do your fair share, I'm up for just about anything," I told him, hoping that my nervousness wasn't betraying me.

"Kat?" I heard KC call out. This day was truly getting weirder by the minute.

"Yep" I responded, not bothering to look up.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked.

"Learning" I sassily answered. "How about you?"

"What are you doing in a grade 10 class?"

"Getting AP credit because I'm just that smart," I said with a smile. I caught Drew smiling back at me.

"Wait! You two know each other?" KC questioned.

"Hey, what's with the interrogation, Bro?" Drew asked. "And, yeah, we do happen to know each other."

"We just met" I added. KC eyed us for a moment.

"Right," he said in a highly suspicious tone as he sat down right behind Drew. What the hell? Was he trying to keep an eye on me? I mean, come on! I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I was brought back to my senses by the wrath of Mrs. Bott's voice.

"Can anyone tell me what 'Biology' means?" I rolled my eyes. This was way too easy.

"Why don't you tell us the answer, Miss?" she asked, staring right at me.

"'Bio' means life and 'logy' means the study of. Therefore, 'Biology' means the study of life." Why did I already know everything they were teaching at this place? I mean, I was in the gifted program for crying out loud.

"Very good," she said. "I'm handing out an inventory test" she explained. "I will not mark it, but please do your best. When you finish it, you can leave. Your homework assignment for tonight is to read Ch.1 in your textbook and answer all of the questions at the end". At least I'd be able to leave early; that was certainly a plus. Mrs. Botts turned the tests upside down as she handed them all out. "Don't turn them up until I tell you to" she instructed. Once they were all handed out, she had us flip them over and begin.

_Question 1: Which of the following best describes the difference between Meiosis and Mitosis?_

Oh, Drew must be so pissed right now. I went on to the next question.

_Question 2: What are cells?_

Seriously, this test was a joke. I answered all 20 questions in a little over five minutes. When I was done, I handed in my test and turned to leave.

"Wait one moment, Kathryn," she said. "I'm going to grade your test now since you're done so early." Oh, so the 'leave early' thing was only valid if the test took you the whole period. Damn, I hated teachers like that. "Well, done, Kathryn," she said, handing my test back. I got a 19/20. "You may leave now," she said. "Mr. Torres, keep your eyes on your own paper" I heard her say as I walked out of the room and down the hall.

"Excuse me, Miss" I spun around. It was the same guy who had pulled me out of history. "Can I see your hall pass?"

"My teacher said we could leave after we finished out test" I explained. "See, here's mine". He took it and glanced down at it.

"Oh, Kathryn," he said. "I was actually just coming to get you".

"Is everything ok, sir?"

"We'll talk more in my office," he said. Now I was worried. We walked down the maze of hallways once more and into the main office. Then he opened a door leading into another room, so I walked in. Both my mom and my social worker were sitting there. "Take a seat, Kathryn". The only one available was next to my mom. I sucked it up and sat down.

"Hi, sweetie," she said cheerfully.

"Hey" I muttered, staring at the ground.

"Mrs. Guthrie and Mr. Long, I'm Archibald Simpson, the school principal"  
he said. "Thank you for coming here today."

"Of course" my mom responded. Kevin just nodded.

"There are some good things and some not so good things that I would like to discuss with you all today, regarding Kathryn". I gulped, and my stomach knotted up. My mom must have seen my fear because she placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. This time I didn't push her hand away.

"Alright, let's begin" Mr. Simpson said. I closed my eyes and bit my lip. Here goes nothing…


	5. Chapter 5

"First off, I'd like to go over school policy with you Kathryn. You need to come into the office with your mom when she signs you in, so I can be sure that you got here safely and that you're not cutting class. Do you understand?" he asked, staring straight at me. I nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again. I promise." _It sure as hell won't happen again because I won't be in the position to need my mom to drive me to school and sign me in again. _

"Alright, onto the next order of business" Mr. Simpson stated. "I was looking over your grade 8 grades and your placement test results and, if I do say so myself, you have done phenomenal." I flashed a quick smile. "Degrassi has an acceleration program where you can take some classes at the University of Toronto for free and earn some credits towards college." He looked down at a file that I assumed must be mine. "In your case, you would qualify for Bio 101 and History 101, which is an Introduction to World History."

"So, what do I have to do exactly to get into this program?"

"I would make a recommendation to the school board. Then you'd receive a decision in about two weeks by mail" Mr. Simpson explained. "If accepted than you and your guardian would have to fill out some forms. So what do you think?"

"I don't know" I said glancing down at the floor. "Would I still be able to stay at Degrassi for the rest of my classes?" Mr. Simpson nodded. "Also, I don't drive, so how am I supposed to get there?"

"We provide transportation for all students in the program. We can re-arrange your schedule, so you can have the last two periods off and you'd take a bus there. You'd still have the same teacher for any classes that got switched to other times." I nodded.

"Ok, I'll give it a try."

"Perfect," Mr. Simpson responded. "Now there's one issue left on the agenda. I need to know who your guardian is going to be since I need to obtain written permission from them before submitting your recommendation to the school board. I took a deep breath and glanced over at both Kevin and my mom, both of whom were looking at Mr. Simpson. "I'll step out for a moment to allow the three of you to talk this over. One of you come out and find me once you're done."

"I'll take care of that" Kevin quickly said. Mom and I both nodded in agreement. Once Mr. Simpson had left, Kevin began to speak. "Kathryn, your mom has expressed an interest in trying to re-gain custody of you. How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know" I responded. "I just feel like everything's happening so fast. I mean, when I woke up this morning, I didn't even know she was out of…well, you know" I began to say.

"It's ok, sweetie. You can say it. Jail isn't a bad word" my mom told me reassuringly.

"I know. It just feels weird to say it. No offense! Anyway, I don't think I can make a decision either way right here. I need some time to think." My mom looked as if she had been hit by a ton of bricks. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm not saying that I don't want to stay with you. It's just…"

"It's fine" she interjected. "I get it."

"How about this," Kevin responded. "Why don't you try living with your mom on a trial basis for one week. If you don't like it, you can always go back to your foster home." I shuttered at the thought. "If you like living with your mom, however, you can stay there."

"Would I have to go back to my foster family if I decided to not live with my mom?" I nervously asked.

"Well, yes. Unless you could prove to me that there's some reason why you shouldn't go back there." I bit my lip and stared at the ground, desperately willing myself not to cry. "Is there something I should know about, Kathryn?" Kevin asked me suspiciously. I immediately snapped my head up and shook my head no. "Ok, good." I turned towards my mom.

"I guess I could try staying with you for a week" I said looking over at her. "You sure you have room for me?"

"Of course, Kathryn! There's always a spot for you. You know that." She patted my arm reassuringly before turning towards Kevin. "Is it ok if I have a minute alone with my daughter? Just to further discuss her new living arrangements."

"Of course," he nodded. "I'll step right outside." Once he was out, my mom turned towards me.

"Ok, what's going on at your foster home?" she asked me, not breaking eye-contact. I glanced down at the floor and began twirling my hair with my thumb and pointer-finger. "Look, I know I wasn't there for you in the past, but please give me another chance and let me be there for you now. What do you say?"

"You were right" I muttered.

"You keep saying that. What exactly does that mean?"

"You were right when you said that foster care would be hell compared to how we used to live. There! Happy now?" At this point I couldn't stop the steady flow of tears spilling from my eyes and down my cheeks.

"Are they hurting you there?" I took a deep breath and took off my jacket, revealing my bruises and burn marks. I heard her gasp.

"Does that answer your question?" I bitterly asked.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry. If I had known…"

"You wouldn't have been able to stop them. No one can. They hate having me there. If I break any of their rules, I get hurt. If I have even one piece of paper on my bedroom floor or I don't put my toothbrush in the right place I get either the lighter or the baseball bat. I don't know which one I hate more." My mom pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'll take good care of you this time around. I promise!" I looked up at her and wiped away my tears.

"Guess I should go get Kevin and Mr. Simpson now. They're probably wondering what's taking so long" I said, getting up and opening the door in order to let them back in.

After we finished the meeting, I went to my locker to get the books I needed for that night. "Hey stranger!" I spun around only to find Drew Torres standing behind me. "I thought you'd be long gone by now since you finished that test, what, a half-hour ago?"

"Mr. Simpson wanted to talk to me about something."

"In trouble on the first day?" he teased. "You're even worse than I am."

"Actually, Mr. Simpson wants me to apply for Degrassi's accelerated program and take university level History and Biology" I explained.

"Wait! You're switching out of Bio? I can't lose my lab partner."

"Well nothing is set in stone. He just gave me some info about it today and told me to think it over."

"So you think you're going to do it?"

"I don't know" I told him. "I mean the idea of getting university credit while in high school sounds pretty neat. Still, I kind of want to get used to only one school, rather than two. Not to mention I'd definitely be the youngest there by far. I mean you have people in their 20's taking those classes. I'm only 14. The whole idea is so mind-boggling. You know?" Drew nodded.

"Well if you ever want to hang out or just talk, here's my cell number" he said handing me a sheet of paper.

"Thanks!" I said putting it in my purse. "Can I see your phone for a sec, so I can put mine into yours?"

"Sure" he responded as he handed his phone over. I input my number and gave it back to him.

"Thank you, Miss Kat!" he said with a huge smile.

"No problem. I need to get going, but it was nice seeing you."

"You too! See you in Bio tomorrow."

"Sure thing" I responded as I gave him a quick wave goodbye and headed outside to see where my mom had parked. A few seconds later, I spotted her standing outside of her car, so I headed over.

"Get everything you need?" she asked.

"Yep!"

"Perfect, put your knapsack in the back. I just want to txt KC to see whether or not he's staying after."

"Sure thing" I responded as I did what I was told.

"KC will be out in a couple of minutes" Mom told me.

"Ok. Where do you want me to sit?"

"Since you got here first, you get to choose."

"Alright, cool!" I responded as I opened the front passenger door and got in. A minute later, I spotted KC walking towards the car.

"Hey mom!" he said as he threw his knapsack in the back, on the floor. "Kat, what are you doing here?"

"I'm going to be moving in with you guys. That ok with you?"

"Fine by me," KC responded, walking around and taking a seat behind me. Once he was in, we were off to my new home.


	6. Chapter 6

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of a building. "There's the bus stop" KC pointed out. "I take the 6:35 a.m. train and it drops me off two blocks away from school."

"How much is the fare?" I asked him.

"It's free for students. You just need to show the driver your school ID, and after a while they get to know you. I don't even have to show mine anymore" he told me.

"Awesome! I like free!" I responded as my mom pulled into a space.

"KC, why don't you show Kathryn where the apartment is. I'll be up in a few" my mom told him.

"Yeah, sure! This way, Kat." He led me through a revolving glass door and over to the elevator. Once inside, he pushed the button for the 15th floor. "The apartment number is 1503," KC told me. It's really close to the elevators." Once we reached our floor, we walked out, and he turned towards the right. "Right here. Second door on your left." He took out his key and opened the door. I walked in and took it all in. It wasn't a big place, but it looked really cozy. "There's the living room, kitchenette, bathroom's to the left and mom's bedroom is right across from the bathroom. Mine and I'm assuming yours too now, is right next to her room."

"Cool," I said, taking off my backpack and following KC into his, or our, room. "Um…KC, there's only one bed in here. Where am I supposed to sleep?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea. Ask mom that."

"It's fine. I can just sleep on the couch. That's probably what she was planning on anyway." Just then, I heard the hallway door open.

"Looks like you can work that out with her now," KC said as he lay down on his bed and began to txt someone. I took that as my cue to leave.

"Alrighty then," I whispered to myself as I walked out.

"Kathryn, how do you like the place?" my mom asked me once I had walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"It's really nice," I told her. "One question, though." She up looked at me with a worried glance.

"Which is?"

"Where exactly am I going to sleep?"

"The sofa pulls out" my mom explained. "Is that ok?" she quickly added in a nervous tone.

"Of course!" I responded. "Just curious is all."

"Ok. Kathryn, I got you a copy of the key to this apartment. Don't lose it!" she told me, walking over to where I was. I took the key from her and placed it in my purse.

"Thanks!" She nodded in response.

"Also, Kevin is coming over in a couple of hours to drop off your belongings from your foster home. Anyway, I've got to go to work. I'll be home around midnight, and I want you asleep by then. Ok?"

"No problem," I said. "I usually go to bed around 10:30 anyway and I'll be sure I'm here for when Kevin stops by.

"Great! I love you, and I'll see you tomorrow," she said grabbing her purse and quickly running out the door. I checked my phone and saw that there was a message from Drew.

_Meet me at the Dot at 4:30?_

I smiled to myself and quickly replied:

_For sure! See you then!_

Immediately after sending it, I felt butterflies in my stomach. Was he asking me out on a date? What should I wear? If it was date and I showed up wearing what I was now, it would look like I didn't care. Yet, if I dressed up and did my hair and make-up all special, then it might look as if I were expecting our encounter to be more than it really was. So I did what I always did when I was stressed. I reached into my bag and grabbed a cigarette and my pink lighter. Then I sat back and began to relax as I slowly inhaled the smoke and blew it back out again. "What the hell is that smell?" KC asked, a few minutes later, emerging from his room. "Kat, seriously? You smoke?"

"Oh, sorry. Is this a non-smoking building? I'll put it out and go outside. And don't worry. I'll get rid of the smell before…" The door opened, and I saw my mom hurriedly came back in.

_Shit! _I thought to myself. _I don't want mom getting in trouble because of me. _

"Don't mind me" my mom said as she walked over to the kitchen table. I forgot my keys." She laughed to herself. But, after a couple of seconds, she stopped and sniffed at the air. Then she looked over to me and saw me holding my cigarette.

"Put it out," she told me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think that this building might be non-smoking. I'll..." I started to say when my mom interjected.

"Put it out and give me any packs that you have on you." My mouth dropped open.

"Seriously?" She glared at me.

"Yes, seriously. I don't want you smoking period!" I sighed as I pressed my cigarette against the rubber-sole of my shoe, putting it out. Then I tossed it in the trash and gave her the two packs that were in my bag. "I don't have time right now, but we're going to talk about this some point tomorrow. Ok?"

"Fine," I muttered. My mom turned  
towards KC.

"Be sure she doesn't go out to get any more" she instructed him, before leaving once again.

"I'm going out for a walk," I told KC. "Don't worry; I'm not going to get any smokes. I promise."

"I'm checking your bag and having you empty out your pockets once you get home," he told me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yes, mom!" I moaned.

"Shut up, Kat!" he said teasingly.

"Whatever," I muttered before walking out and shutting the door behind me. I walked a few blocks and went behind a dumpster where I sat down and pulled out my secret stash of cigarettes from inside my sock. Why nobody ever bothers to check in there I'm not sure, but I wasn't complaining. I took one out, slipped the rest of the pack back into my sock, lit it and leaned back against the dumpster as I closed my eyes and relaxed…

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know my phone is ringing. I took it out and checked the caller ID. It was Drew.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, where are you?"

"Crap! Did I miss our date?" I mentally kicked myself for the bad choice of words. Of course, it wasn't a date; Ihadn't even known him a date yet.

"No," he responded. "I got out of work early and wanted to know if you wanted to meet up now."

"Sure!" I responded. "I'll be there in 5!"

"Great! See you then!" he said before hanging up. I then checked my messages and saw that I had a txt from KC.

_How long does it take to go on a stupid walk?_

I sighed. KC hadn't changed one bit. He was still the over-protective brother that I remembered him always being.

_I'm going to meet a friend up at the Dot now._

A minute later I heard my phone chime, saying that I had a new txt.

_Cool! Have fun!_

I thanked him and then started my walk over to the Dot.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! So this isn't an actual chapter. I just want to know whether there is still any interest in this story. If there is please leave me a comment in the reviews section. If there is still interest, I will replace this with an actual chapter probably within a week of your review. If not, then I'm just going to leave this story up here like this and, should anyone be interested in seeing the story move forward in the future, I'll update then. Anyway, hope you are all having a great day/night.


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